‘Mirror life forms’ may sound like science fiction, but scientists warn they could be deadly to humans and destroy the environment

By Mark Lorch, Professor of Science Communication and Chemistry, University of Hull

When you look in a mirror, the reflection is fundamentally you, but with a perfect reversal of all your features. This illustrates a phenomenon we also see in the tiny world of molecules.

Some molecules exist as mirror images of themselves, known as “enantiomers”, that can’t be superimposed on one another. This concept is known as chirality, or “handedness”. It’s important…

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